Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1887-02-17
MEATH TO PENSION BILLS
r,u Text of the Presidents Message
yetoing the Dependents Bill.

,ha text of the presidents message, veto
mo the dependent parents pension bill.
M the House of Representatives:
Herewith | return without my approval
bonse bill No. 10,457, entitled IAN act for
ne relief of dependent parents and hon
ably discharged soldiers and sailors,
-bo are now disabled and dependent
anon their own labor for support" This
!. tbe frst general bill that has been sane
toned by congress since the close of the
ate civil war, permitting pensions to sol
Nays and sailors who served in that war,
1pon the ground of service and present
stability alone, and the entire absence
NJ any injnries received by the casualties
ar Incidents of such service. While by
almost constant legislation since the
/ close of this war there has been cempen-
sstion awarded for every possible injury
received as q result of military service in
| HE Union army, and while great mum
her of laws passed for that purpose have
| been administered with great hberality
snd had been supplemented by numerous
private acts to reach special cases, there
bas not until now been
AN AyowED DEPARTURE
from the principles thus far adhered to
respecting Union soldiers; that the boun-
h ty Of the government in the way of pen
/ .ions is generously bestowed when grant
ed to those who in this military
,eryice. in the line of military duty,
have to greater or less extent
been disabled bat it is a mistake to sup
pose that service pensions such as are
permitted by the second section of the
bill under consideration are new to legis-
ation. In 1918, thirty-fye years after
the close of the revolutionary war there
we're granted pensions to the soldiers en-
gagged in that struggle conditioned upon
service until the end of the war or for
term longer than nine months, and re-
curing every beneficiary under the act TO
be one who is, or hereafter, by reason of
his reduced circumstances in life shall be
in need of assistance from his country
for support Another law of like chRrsc-
ter was passed in 1928, requiring service
to the close of the revolutionary war,
and still another passed in 1882, provided
for those persons not included in the
previous statutes, but who served two
years at the same time during the war,
and giving proportionate sum to those
that served less than six months. A ser
vice pension law was passed for the bene-
lit of the soldiers of the war of 1912; in
the year lS7I-56 years after the close of
that war, which required only sixty days
service, and another passed in 1878, sixty
three years afterward requiring only ID
days service.
THE SERVICE PENSION BILL,
passed at this session of congress, 80
years after the close of the Mexican war,
for tae benefit of the soldiers of that
war, requires either some degree of disa.
bility depending on that the claimant
under its provisions should be sixty-two
years of age and in either case that he
should have served sixty days or been
actually engaged in battle. 1t will be
seen that the bill of 1918 and the Next
can pension bill being passed nearer the
close of the wars in which the benef-
Charles were engaged than the others,
one Is years and the other 80
years after the termination of
such wars embraced pensioners who we're
quite advanced IN age, assumed to be com
paratiyely few in number, and whose cir
cumstGuces, dependence and disability
we're clearly defined and could be quite
easily fixed. The other laws referred to
appear to have been passed at time so
remote from the military service of the
persons which they embraced that their
extreme age alone was deemed to supply
the presumption of dependency and
need
THE NUABER OF ENLIsTMRNTs
in the revolutionary war is stated to
be 309,791, and in the war of 1912,
51G622; but it is estimated that GA ac-
count of the repeated re-enlistments the
number of individuals engaged in
these wars did not exceed one-half of
the number represented by these figures.
In the war with Mexico the number of
enlistments are reported to be 1920,
which represents a greater proportion of
individuals engaged than the report of
The en!istments Of the two previous wars.
TUE NUMBER CT PENSIONS
granted under all the Jaws to the soldiers
Of the revolution is given at
520s9 To the soldiers OF the
ar of 1912 and their widows,
Wills; and TO the soldiers
Of the Mexican war and their widows up
70 June 80, 1885, numbered 1913. This
number OF pensions was granted to sol
llers who endured muca hardship from
disabilities incurred as a result of such
service and it was not till within the last
month that the few remaining sur
Ti'or5 We're awarded service pension.
me war of the rebellion terminated near
years ago, and the number
VI msa furnished fo- its prose
[uuo1 j. stated to be 2,772, 40s.
NO corresponding humber of statutes
nave ever been passed, to every kind of
injury or disability incurred in the mill
.ar! service Of any war, and under these
s.atules 56l,576 pensions have been
granted, from the year 1861 to January
~ 1856, and more than 1900 pensioners
ave been added to the rolls by private
ag's' passed to meet cases, many of them
= Questionable merit, which the general
-aF' ald not cover. On the FIRST day of
.--5 1856, 365,673 pensioners of all
-ssse' were upon the pension rolls, of
'1oA 5o5,605 were survivors of the war
'ae rebellion and their widows and de.
fsllehts For the year ending June 80,
a 10000 have been appropriated
me payment of pensions.
me amount expended for that
pose from 1861 to July /. 1886. ia
-tell.5l. While annually paving
#a+ E1uV q vaas s~,r,.